Between Angels and XMen
by Nick Villarreal
Summary: Angel and crew meet up with the X-Men and mutants in Los Angeles.


Disclaimer: I own no part of the "Angel" television series, either creatively or physically. Warner Brothers, Incorporated, and any other related parties that have potential legal control, such as Joss Whedon, own all rights to that show and its characters exclusively.  
  
I also own no part of the X-Men series of comics, which are the property of Marvel Comics...and maybe Stan Lee. I'm not really sure about the legal rights.  
  
Of course, I do own this fan fiction, so, since I tossed a disclaimer on this sucker, I'll keep it forever as mine. So there, dude.  
  
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Los Angeles, Downtown, 1900 Hours Pacific Time, Saturday  
  
So this is what it feels like to be scared for your life, Joshua thought to himself.  
It was truly his only thought as he retreated from the monsters. It was his only saving grace as he retreated from the destruction that awaited him. His running was the only thing he had left to keep his life going past his current thirteen years. It was survival that drove him, just as murder drove his pursuers. At least, he hoped that it was only murder. With assailants like those, who knew?  
They were a band of creatures, all aiming for one thing - his throat. He knew from the moment that the first one tried to attack him that that was their true goal. They were trying to bite his neck. It was as if they were aiming for nothing else. Stabbing him in the heart or the back would have done the same thing, but they wanted to bite his throat. It was almost as if they lusted after that bite. Unfortunately, he could do nothing at this point but run.  
If he called out the fact that he was being pursued, he would be labeled as insane. Actually, he would most likely be ignored. After all, this was downtown Los Angeles. It wasn't like anybody would care if he suddenly yelled bloody murder. They already saw enough violence. So of course, even the leader's shouts couldn't bring out the neighbors. Death threats though they were they did nothing but scare thirteen-year-old Alejandro Valdez in to running even faster.  
"Come, child, you can't run forever," the voice taunted. "When you stop, we'll catch you, we'll kill you, we'll drink your blood, and we'll like it!"  
The shout was even worse than if the man had just threatened him with dismemberment. He somehow knew that the death would come only after his blood was drained. His true end was going to be long and painful. Somehow, he suddenly realized that one of two things were possible. One Satanism had spread from San Francisco or two these men were demons. Alejandro did not know that his religious convictions were closer to the mark than his analytical views.  
The demons pursuing him were demons, of a sort. Demons in human clothing, as it were. Only a trip to the dimension of Pylea could truly reveal them, but their ridged foreheads, their yellow eyes, their, fanged teeth - all displayed the truth. He was being chased by demons. These demons were the most malevolent form on the planet that weren't easily identified, save for zombies. They were the true walkers of the night, stalkers of blood, those invisible in the mirror - vampires.  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" another demon said maliciously. "You can't just stay put! We will find you!"  
Over my dead body, Alejandro thought, realizing that his statement was quite literal. His discovery would result in his demise. Unfortunately, there was one slight problem. He had been able to evade the monsters for all of fifteen minutes, using his knowledge of the city to his advantage. Unfortunately, the insistent taunting, as well as the fact that he had to keep running, made him mistake an open street for a blocked-off alley. He had just run himself into a trap, and retreated to the wall. He then saw as all six of the demons appeared at the end of the alley. He knew that nothing could save him.  
"So, who should get first bite?" "Why don't we all just bite him at different locations?" "There's enough of him to go around." "Let's just get this over with." The vampires' speech was confusing to him, since they all were talking at once. But Valdez stood his ground. He knew that nothing could truly save him, so he decided to make his peace with God. He began the Lord's Prayer, and the vampires began to chuckle. In fact, one of them saw it fit to tell him why.  
"Your so-called God can't help you here," the leader said. "This is the City of Angels, true...but the message never quite took."  
Another began to add to the message. "So, in a place where nobody belongs except those that don't belong elsewhere," he mocked, "God is excluded from the City of his Messengers."  
Almost as a last resort, though he knew it was complete desperation, Alejandro placed his hands out in front of him, and somehow, just began to shout. The vampires continued to laugh, and finally, Alejandro began to yell even louder, but this time, it was intelligible. But still nothing happened. The vampires continued to advance, despite his yelling, despite his shouts of desperation. Finally, as if to show that he did not want to see how he was saved as long as God saved him, the young teen closed his eyes and yelled his plea even more loudly.  
"DIOS! SALVAME, SI SEA JUSTO!" he shouted.  
And suddenly, he felt heat, like a fire. It felt like the he was emanating the heat from his hands. He suddenly heard something he had not expected - screams that were not his own. Alejandro pulled his hands back and opened his eyes, only to discover that his assailants were suddenly immolated. They all yelled in pain, running away from Valdez as they burned. But they did not burn like normal people. They left trails of ash, eventually falling to the ground. The fires extinguished as all six of them slumped to the ground and burned to ash. Left with nothing to burn, the fires extinguished.  
Alejandro simply looked at his hands in amazement, then whispered to himself in astonishment, "Madre de Dios."  
He then ran out of the alley as fast as he possibly could, hoping to every single saint that he knew that the demons' deaths were a miracle of god, and not something that he had caused with his own hands.  
  
******  
  
New York, Xavier Institute, 0800 Hours Eastern Standard Time, Sunday  
  
Logan walked through the building with caution. Nothing really was like it used to be anymore. A nurse whose last name sounded like some Asian country, Juggernaut fighting alongside them...it just would never be the same. After all that had happened through the years, he had almost gotten used to it - almost. Of course, being a man who can survive a shoot-out and only need a few days' bed rest usually impacted his true need for familiarity. New York was just his general dive. As long as he stayed in or near the city, he was pretty much covered. Anywhere else, though, was...  
"Foreign territory," a voice said from out of nowhere. Logan was taken aback until he heard the words, "Of course, it wasn't foreign to Poland when the Germans and Russians invaded it from either side. Now, could somebody please tell me..."  
Wolverine kept forgetting that this place was a school. True, it wasn't exactly a normal private school, but the Xavier institute still had classes. And, being February already, Logan supposed that he had just accidentally heard the World History class. Logan realized that he had become quite paranoid during his time with the X-Men, but it wasn't exactly unnatural. After all, he had reason to be a bit wary. If the wolf-men calling themselves the "Dominant Species" or the inter-dimensional group calling themselves the eXiles was any indication, it was probably his best survival technique.  
Yes, paranoia was a bit extreme, but sometimes, it helped. Still, he decided to let his guard down. After all, the Xavier Institute was well- guarded. Nobody got in without an invitation - well, that was slightly incorrect. The uninvited guests got in if they were either very lucky or very good at their job. So far, only mutants had truly proven their mettle against the current security system, and those mutants lived in the Institute. Of course, that didn't mean that he couldn't still be...  
"Cautious?" a voice said.  
Logan immediately ignored it, thinking that it was another classroom.  
"Logan, are you just going to ignore me?" the voice inquired, and Logan realized his mistake.  
"Sorry, Charles," Wolverine replied. "My mind is slightly preoccupied. With more of these mutant appearances, I have a feeling they might try to push through that Mutant Registration Act again."  
"If they do, there will be much political backfire," Xavier added. "Speaking of which, Logan, I think there may be a slight problem in Los Angeles. More and more mutants are appearing out of the woodwork in that area. I want you to see what's going on."  
"Me, on my own? No team, no Nightcrawler, no Iceman, no Paige?" Logan queried.  
"Yes, Logan," Charles confirmed. "Unless, of course, you feel that you need aid."  
"Nah, Professor. I was just makin' sure that I can do this my way, without somebody else," Logan stated. "So, when do I start?"  
"Now."  
  
****** 


End file.
